Lions’ bonding brothers philosophy suits Courtney Taylor just fine

Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun09.19.2013

B.C. Lions receiver Courtney Taylor hauls in a pass for a 58-yard gain during the Leos’ Canadian Football League game against the Montreal Alouettes at BC Place Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

B.C. Lions receiver Courtney Taylor slips away from the grasp of Montreal Alouettes defender Chip Cox during their Canadian Football League game at BC Place Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

B.C. Lions receiver Courtney Taylor dives for the goal-line but is shoved out of bounds by Hamilton Tiger-Cats defender Raymond Brown during their Canadian Football League game at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

B.C. Lions receiver Courtney Taylor dives for the goal-line but is shoved out of bounds by Hamilton Tiger-Cats defender Raymond Brown during their Canadian Football League game at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

METRO VANCOUVER — A person with only passing acquaintance of the game through television or NFL Films can hardly be blamed for thinking that a successful football coach must either be edgy (Bill Parcells), inscrutable (Bill Belichick) or a brow-beating micromanager (Nick Saban).

Mike Benevides of the B.C. Lions, though an excitable, ultra-competitive man in the heat of the competition, craves a kinder, gentler approach. He does not push his players’ buttons so much as he tries to push them together.

“That’s one thing that Benny preaches with this team,” said receiver Courtney Taylor. “He wants guys to hang out. We have a head coach who understands that a team is more than being together four-and-a-half hours a day (the extent of organized team activity allowed daily in the CBA). It’s about life, too. If a man will lay down for you out there, he will definitely do that here (on the field).”

The idea, promoted by Benevides, is if players really care about each other and do things together they will be happier people, and better, more productive players. It’s a trial program, into its second year, that produced impressive results in the beginning (a 13-5 record and a CFL West Division pennant) but has had more mixed reviews in the second (a 7-4 record and third place in the West).

And that’s not to say that if the player is dragging it a lineal descendant of Vince Lombardi won’t get on his case. A heated disagreement between offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine and receiver Nick Moore flared on the sidelines last Sunday in the Lions’ game against the Montreal Alouettes at BC Place.

A week ago, defenders Korey Banks and Khreem Smith came to blows in practice. Optimism still doesn’t trump a perceived lack of accountability, Taylor said. And it never will.

“That’s the game,” he said Thursday after practice. “Tempers are going to flare, 24/7, every single day. It’s just like growing up. You remember the spats you used to have with your brothers and sisters. It’s the same exact way with a football team. We love each other, but we’re going to get on each other’s nerves sometimes. You argue, you fuss, then you move on. The next day, it’s all good.”

A former Seattle Seahawk, Taylor has taken over the slotback spot formerly held by Arland Bruce, one of the craftiest and most productive receivers in CFL history.

He and Moore, who plays in Geroy Simon’s old spot, are very tight, Taylor said.

“It’s crazy how we’ve bonded the last two years,” he explained. “I call Nick my brother. Whether things are good or bad, he’s my brother. That’s something every team needs. And that’s a feeling Coach Benny wants.

“We’re being asked to replace arguably two of the greatest players to play this game in Canada. We knew we’d have to set out our own identity. It doesn’t take two games. it doesn’t take three games. It takes multiple games doing it, over and over again, where people say, ‘They can play.’”

They’ll face a crucial test Sunday afternoon in Regina, when the 7-4 Lions face the 8-3 Roughriders in a game for second place and critical positioning in the playoff race. The teams will meet two more times this season.

With wide receiver Manny Arceneaux out with a groin injury (he hasn’t practised the past two days), Ernest Jackson draws in to the starting lineup, and the focal point of the passing attack increasingly rests with Moore and Taylor.

“They’re (Bruce and Taylor) the same type of creature,” suggested Lions halfback Josh Bell, “When you throw the ball up there, C.T. (Taylor) will come down with it. You get a younger version of Arland in C.T. He’s been the third man (behind Moore and Arceneaux) who’s not really talked about a lot. He’s the blue collar worker of the receivers, but he still has pizzazz.”

That flair had been evident the past two weeks, with Taylor pulling in seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown Sept. 7 against the Tiger-Cats and five receptions for 117 yards last Sunday against the Alouettes.

He pulled off the game’s highlight play against Montreal, taking a pass from Travis Lulay, shucking off a tackle from defender Chip Cox, pirouetting to stay in-bounds, then sprinting down the sidelines on a play that covered 58 yards.

“It was just being a football player,” Taylor explained. “You can’t choreograph that. You can’t practise that. It just happens.”

“He got the offensive award from me,” Benevides said. “He’s truly, truly been spectacular the last couple of weeks. It’s awesome to see. He plays in traffic. He catches deep balls. He makes big plays. He’s an outstanding blocker. There are all kinds of things he does extremely well.

“I don’t look at Courtney as our third receiver. He’s grown to be among a group that is 1A, 1B, 1C.”

With A out, it’s up to B and C to get the job done for B.C.

FISCHER READY: Rookie Kyle Fischer has taken first-team reps at left tackle the past two days with veteran Ben Archibald sitting out. Fischer, a late arrival in training camp, hasn’t played a meaningful game since Dec. 31, 2011, against Cincinnati in the Autozone Liberty Bowl, playing for Vanderbilt. He last saw action with the Lions in two preseason games. “Naturally, as a competitor, you want to play,” Fischer said. “But I anticipate Ben being able to come back and play this week. If not, I’m ready. I’m comfortable with the guys on the O-line. I’m a wild horse, ready to let go. It would be an honour to play left tackle in his place. But I definitely hope Ben is able to play.”

FLAG HAPPY: Those who lament that the CFL is sometimes a flag-happy, overly-officiated game got their argument buttressed Sunday when the Lions were docked 10 yards for an objectionable conduct penalty. The so-called perp was wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi, a Harvard grad who was endeared himself to this teammates through his competitiveness, easy manner and respect for the game. After scoring a 14-yard touchdown that put the Lions ahead 35-14 in the fourth quarter, Iannuzzi got flagged after he politely attempted to toss the football back to an official. “One of the (Alouettes) defenders walked by just then, and it hit him in the shoulder,” Iannuzzi explained. “Everyone was making fun of me because I got an objectionable conduct penalty (for taunting). The thing was, the other ref saw it. He came up to me and said, ‘Too bad.’ Unfortunate.”

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